It was seized.
From Wikipedia...
"One of the missing double eagles was acquired by King Farouk of Egypt, who was known for being playboy and a spendthrift. He was also a voracious collector of many things, including Imperial Faberge eggs, antique aspirin bottles, postage stamps - and coins. In 1944 Farouk purchased a 1933 Double Eagle, and in strict adherence with the law, his ministers applied to the United States Treasury Department for an export license for the coin. Mistakenly, just days before the Mint theft was discovered, the license was granted. The Treasury Department attempted to work through diplomatic channels to request the return of the coin from Egypt, but World War II delayed their efforts for several years. In 1952 King Farouk was deposed in a coup d'etat, and many of his possessions were made available for public auction (run by Sotheby's) -- including the double eagle coin. The United States Government requested the return of the coin, and the Egyptian government stated that it would comply with the request. However, at that time the double eagle coin disappeared and was not seen again in Egypt.
A double eagle surfaced again after over forty years of obscurity, when Stephen Fenton purchased a 1933 Double Eagle, along with other US gold coins, in London. Fenton was arrested by US Secret Service agents and the British coin dealer was questioned. Although he initially told investigators he bought the coin over the counter at his shop, he later changed his story. Under sworn testimony, he insisted the double eagle had originated with the collection of King Farouk, though there was no way to be absolutely certain of this. Charges against Fenton were subsequently dropped, and he defended his ownership of the coin in court, and in 2001 the case was settled. The terms of the agreement included: ownership of the double eagle was returned to the United States Government, and the coin could then legally be sold at auction. The United States Treasury issued a document to "issue and monetize" the coin, thereby making it the only legal tender gold coin in the United States.
When the coin was seized, it was transferred to a holding place believed to be safe: the Treasury vaults of the World Trade Center. When the court settlement was reached in July of 2001, the coin was transferred to Fort Knox for safekeeping. Less than two months later, the World Trade Center was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
On July 30, 2002, the 1933 double eagle was sold to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby's auction for $6.6 million, plus the 15 percent seller's premium, and an additional $20 was needed to monetize the face value of the coin so it would be legal to own, bringing the final sales price to $7,590,020.00, almost twice the previous record for a coin. Half the $7.56 million was delivered to the United States Treasury, plus the $20 to monetize the coin; while Stephen Fenton was entitled to the other half. The whole auction took less than nine minutes.
In August 2005, The U.S. Mint seized 10 1933 Double Eagle gold coins from the son of a Jewish jeweler in Philadelphia."
Ownership of the coin, as noted above, reverted to the US Gov't.
It could easily be that a similar deal will be struck with the woman in Philadelphia.
But here's the real kick in the butt...
That one of a kind Double Eagle just got 10 siblings, and their values, if sold at auction, have now dropped dramatically. It's not exactly rare anymore.
And, in a CNN article (
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/07/30/double.eagle/) leading up to the sale of the single in 2002, the Mint issued a statement saying that any other 1933 Double Eagles found in circulation would be seized and melted down per the 1937 order.
You have to admit, though, it's a damned fine looking coin...
